dmadden2018

July 24, 2019July 24, 2019

David Madden: Engines, Dolphins, and Sharksuckers, July 24, 2019

NOAA Teacher at Sea

David Madden

Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces

July 15-29, 2019

Mission: South East Fishery-Independent Survey (SEFIS)

Geographic Area of Cruise: Atlantic Ocean, SE US continental shelf ranging from Cape Hatteras, NC (35°30’ N, 75°19’W) to St. Lucie Inlet, FL (27°00’N, 75°59’W)

On board off the coast of South Carolina – about 50 miles east of Charleston (32°50’ N, 78°55’ W) – after a slight change of plans last night due to the approaching tropical depression.

Date: July 24, 2019

Weather Data from the Bridge:
Latitude: 32°50’ N
Longitude: 78°55’ W
Wave Height: 3-4 feet
Wind Speed: 15 knots
Wind Direction: Out of the North
Visibility: 10 nm
Air Temperature: 24.6°C
Barometric Pressure: 1011.8 mb
Sky: Cloudy

NOAA Pisces Full Track 7-20-19 — This is a map from the other day outlining the path of the ship. The convoluted pattern is the product of dropping off and picking up 24 (6 x 4) fish traps per day, along with the challenges of navigating a 209 foot ship in concert with gulf stream currents and winds.

Science and Technology Log

Life and science continue aboard NOAA Ship Pisces. It seems like the crew and engineers and scientists are in the groove. I am now used to life at sea and the cycles and oddities it entails. Today we had our first rain along with thunderstorms in the distance. For a while we seemed to float in between four storms, one on the east, west, north, and south – rain and lightning in each direction, yet we remained dry. This good thing did indeed come to an end as the distant curtains of rain closed in around us. The storm didn’t last long, and soon gathering the fish traps resumed.

Dave with red grouper — Processing fish: measuring length and weight of a red grouper, *Epinephelus morio*.

Fish Count for July 23, 2019 — Yesterday’s fish count. Compare to other day’s catches: Tons of vermillion snapper, tomtate, and black sea bass. And one shark sucker (read on for more). Thank you, Zeb, for tallying them up for me.

The highlight of yesterday (and tied for 1^st place in “cool things so far”) was a tour of the engine room lead by First Assistant Engineer, Steve Clement. This tour was amazing and mind-blowing. We descended into the bowels of the ship to explore the engine rooms and its inner workings. I think it rivals the Large Hadron Collider in complexity.

I kept thinking, if Steve left me down here I would surely get lost and never be found. Steve’s knowledge is uncanny – it reminded me of the study where the brains of London cab drivers were scanned and shown to have increased the size of their hippocampus. (An increase to their memory center apparently allows them to better deal with the complexities of London’s tangled streets.) And you’re probably thinking, well, running a massive ship with all its pipes and wires and hatches and inter-related, hopefully-always-functioning, machinery is even harder. And you’re probably right! This is why I was so astounded by Steve’s knowledge and command of this ship. The tour was close-quartered, exceptionally loud, and very hot. Steve stopped at times to give us an explanation of the part or area we were in; four diesel engines that power electric generators that in turn power the propeller and the entire ship. The propeller shaft alone is probably 18 inches in diameter and can spin up to 130 rpm. (I think most of the time two engines is enough juice for the operation). Within the maze of complexity below ship is a smooth running operation that allows the crew, scientists, and NOAA Corps officers to conduct their work in a most efficient manner.

Dave and Steve and engines — First Assistant Engineer Steve Clement and TAS Dave Madden in the Engine Room

I know you’ve all been wondering about units in the marine world. Turns out, students, units are your friend even out here on the high seas! Here’s proof from the bridge, where you can find two or three posted unit conversion sheets. Makes me happy. So if you think that you can forget conversions and dimensional analysis after you’re finished with high school, guess again!

Speaking of conversions, let’s talk about knots. Most likely the least-understood-most-commonly-used unit on earth. And why is that? I have no idea, but believe me, if I were world president, my first official action would be to move everyone and everything to the Metric System (SI). Immediately. Moving on.

Back to knots, a unit used by folks in water and air. A knot is a unit of speed defined as 1 nautical mile/hour. So basically the same exact thing as mph or km/hr, except using an ever-so-slightly-different distance – nautical miles. Nautical miles make sense, at least in their origin – the distance of one minute of longitude on a map (the distance between two latitude lines, also 1/60 of a degree). This works well, seeing as the horizontal lines (latitude) are mostly the same distance apart. I say mostly because it turns out the earth is not a perfect sphere and therefore not all lines are equidistant. And you can’t use the distance between longitude lines because they are widest at the equator and taper to a point at the north and south pole. One nautical mile = 1852 meters. This is equal to 1.15 miles and therefore one knot = 1.15 miles/hour.

This next part could double as a neato fact: the reason why this unit is called a “knot” is indeed fascinating. Old-time mariners and sailors used to measure their speed by dropping a big old piece of wood off the back of the boat. This wood was attached to some rope with knots in it, and the rope was spun around a big spool. Once in the water the wood would act kind of like a water parachute, holding position while the rope was let out. The measuring person could then count how many evenly spaced knots passed by in a given amount of time, thus calculating the vessel’s speed.

Personal Log

The scientists on board have been incredibly helpful and patient. Zeb is in charge of the cruise and this leg of the SEFIS expedition. Brad, who handles the gear (see morning crew last post), is the fishiest guy I’ve ever met. He seriously knows everything about fish! Identification, behavior, habitats, and most importantly, how extract their otoliths. He’s taught me a ton about the process and processing. Both Zeb and Brad have spent a ton of time patiently and thoroughly answering my questions about fish, evolution, ecology, you name it. Additionally, NOAA scientist Todd, who seeks to be heroic in all pictures (also a morning crew guy), is the expert on fish ecology. He has been exceptionally patient and kind and helpful.

The fish we’re primarily working with are in the perches: Perciformes. These fish include most of your classic-looking fish. Zeb says, “your fish-looking fish.” Gotcha! This includes pretty much all the fish we’re catching except sharks, eels, and other rare fish.

For more on fish evolution here are two resources I use in class. Fish knowledge and evolution: from Berkeley, A Fisheye View of the Tree of Life.

Fish Tree of Life Berkeley — Fish Tree of Life, from University of California-Berkeley

And check out Neil Shuban’s Your Inner Fish series.

General Updates:

Plenty of exciting animals lately. Here’s a picture of those spotted dolphins from the other day.
The weather has been great, apart from yesterday’s storm. Sunrises and sunsets have been glorious and the stars have been abundant.
We found a common octopus in the fish trap the other day. The photo is from crew member Nick Tirikos.
I’m missing home and family. I can’t wait to see my wife and son.
That tropical depression fizzed out, thankfully.

common octopus — Common Octopus (Photo by crewmember Nick Tirikos)

Neato Facts =

Yesterday we caught a shark sucker in the fish trap. I was excited to see and feel their dorsal attachment sucker on top of their head.

Hold on. I just read more about these guys and turns out that sucking disc is their highly modified dorsal fin! That is the most neato fact so far. What better way to experience the power of this evolutionarily distinct fish than to stick it to your arm?! The attachment mechanism felt like a rubber car tire that moved and sealed against my skin. (Brad calls them sneakerheads).

Consider all the possible biomimicry innovations for the shark sucker’s ability to clasp onto sharks and fish and turtles while underwater. This grasp and release adaptation surely has many cool possible applications. Here are a few: Inspiring New Adhesives. Robotic Sticky Tech. Shark Sucker biomimicry

I’d love to hear your questions and comments!

July 21, 2019July 22, 2019

David Madden: Immersed in the Seascape July 18, 2019

NOAA Teacher at Sea
David Madden: July 18th, 2019

On board off the coast of North Carolina – about 35 miles east of Cape Fear, 40 miles south of Jacksonville, NC. (33º50’ N, 77º15’W)

Mission: South East Fisheries Independent Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Atlantic Ocean, SE US continental shelf ranging from Cape Hatteras, NC (35°30’ N, 75°19’W) to St. Lucie Inlet, FL (27°00’N, 75°59’W)

Here’s our location from the other day, courtesy of windy.com. And here is a good Gulf Stream explanation from our friends at NOAA:

Date: July 19, 2019

Science and Technology Log

Being at sea has got me thinking; about life at sea, the lives and careers of the men and women on board, and about the marine organisms around us. Pause there for a minute. Nature’s beauty and abundance on land is readily seen, so long as you travel to the right location and you’re patient. The ocean, however, hides its multitudes beneath the waves. I’ve found myself drawn to the ocean my whole life, and here on the cruise, I am drawn to staring at and contemplating the ocean and its life – the great hidden beneath. You know the stats: the earth is covered by ~70% water, the deep ocean has been explored less than outer space, the ocean is warming and turning more acidic, etc. I’m not saying that you and I don’t already know these things. I’m only saying that you feel them differently when you are in the ocean, when you are immersed for days in the seascape.

The goal is this cruise is to survey fish. (SEFIS = Southeast Fisheries Independent Survey). The science crew repeats a similar protocol each day of the cruise. It looks something like this:

Chief scientist, Zeb Schobernd, determines the site locations using NOAA sea floor maps.
The science team (broken into day and night shifts) baits six traps with menhaden fish bait, and starts the two GoPros that are attached to the traps.
The Pisces crew then deploys the traps, 1-6, at pre-determined locations (see step 1). They do this by sliding them off the back of the ship. Traps are attached to buoys for later pick up.
Wait for around 75 minutes.
Pisces Senior Survey Technician, Todd Walsh, along with crew members, Mike and Junior, drop the CTD [Conductivity, Temperature, Depth] probe. See picture below.

*Stay tuned for a video chronicling this process.

6. After ~75 min, NOAA Corps officers drive back to retrieve the traps, in the order they were dropped. (1-6)

7. Crew members Mike and Junior, along with scientists, collect the fish in the trap and sort them by species.

8. All fish are measured for weight and length.

9. Depending on the species, some fish contribute further information, most notably, their otoliths (to determine age) and a sample of reproductive organs to determine maturity.

10. Rinse and repeat, four times each day, for the length of the cruise.

I mostly work with the excellent morning crew.

The most excellent and experienced morning crew.

Mike and Junior, running the CTD, and supporting their favorite NFL teams.

Here’s a view into yesterday’s fish count – more fish and more kinds of fish:

Here is a view off the back of the boat, called the stern, where the traps are dropped.

On Wednesday the GoPros on one of the fish traps collected footage of a friendly wandering tiger shark. Our camera technician, Mike Bollinger, using his stereo video technique, determined the size of the shark to be ~ 8.5 feet. I added the location’s CTD data to the picture. This is part of an upcoming video full of neat footage. See below.

Tiger Shark at 64.55 meters, footage from fish trap GoPro.

Personal Log:

Things continue to be exciting on board. My mission to film flying fish flying continues (local species unknown/not really sure; probably family: Exocoetidae). But not without some mild success! I managed to get some of ‘em flying off the port side near the bow. Man are they quick. And small. And the seas were rough. Yet I remain undeterred! Here’s a picture of me waiting and watching patiently, followed by a picture of an unlucky little flying fish who abandoned sea and was left stranded at ship. Poor little fella.

Waiting patiently for the flying fish to fly. And fly right where I was aiming and focused.

General Updates:

The seas have picked up quite a bit. Rising up to 5-6 feet. That may not seem terrifically high, but it sure does rock the ship. Good thing seas were flat at the start, allowing me to get used to life at sea.
I just saw some dolphins! Yippie! Pictures and video to come.
Though not legal, I’m dying to take a swim in these beautiful blue waters.
I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of watching the ocean. *short of being stranded at sea, I suppose. See “In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex” – a true story and great book that’s may have served as inspiration for Moby Dick. I loved the book, haven’t seen the movie. Or check out the lost at sea portions of the, hard-to-believe-it-actually-happened, “Unbroken” – great book, okay movie.

Neato Facts =

NOAA Ship Pisces won NOAA ship of the year in 2018. This is no doubt due to the most excellent crew, seen below. Congratulations!

We’ve caught a number of moray eels in the fish traps. They’re super squirmy and unfriendly. Turns out they also have pharyngeal mouth parts. Essentially a second mouth that shoots after their first one is opened. Check out this fascinating look into the morey eel’s jaw biomechanics.

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

July 17, 2019

David Madden: Calm Seas, Flying Fish, and Bananas, July 16, 2019

NOAA Teacher at Sea

David Madden

Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces

July 15-29, 2019

Mission: Southeast Fishery Independent Survey

Geographic Area:
Atlantic Ocean, SE US continental shelf ranging from Cape Hatteras, NC (35º30’ N, 75º19’W) to St. Lucie Inlet, FL (27º00’N, 75º59’W)

Pisces Location 7-16-19 — Here’s a picture of where we have traveled today. You can see lots of zig zags, dropping fish traps and circling back to retrieve them.

Date: July 14, 2019

Science and Technology Log

I’ve now been on Pisces for 24 hours, and I’m amazed by the complexities and logistics of this ship.

There are 32 souls on board; including 5 on deck, 6 engineers, 1 survey, 1 electronics, 7 NOAA Corps Officers, 2 stewards, and 10 scientists. It takes a well-coordinated, highly-trained group to keep things ship-shape. We have had two safety and drill meetings so far – highlighting the importance of preparedness while at sea. The three divisions on our emergency station bill are: Fire and Emergency, Man Overboard, and Abandon Ship. So far we have done an abandon ship drill, where I tried on my survival suit. Oh boy. It fit just fine. Except the hands and gloves part. For the life of me I could not get my hands to fit through the openings. Perhaps it’ll take a life or death situation. See for yourself:

TAS David Madden tries on a survival suit

During the Abandon Ship exercise we gathered next to our Life Rafts. We discussed situations and protocols and how to get the raft over the side and our bodies into the raft. We also learned about some of the survival gear within; including fishing gear (to keep folks occupied), knife, sea anchor, flares, and sea sickness pills to be taken immediately. Number one lesson – head into a real Abandon Ship well-fed and well-hydrated; you won’t be getting any water for the first 24 hours (to avoid throwing it back up, and to allow the body to acclimate to its new conditions, and because heck, you can probably go the first day without water, so why not save it?) It all reminded me of a book I read years ago called, “Adrift: Seventy-six Days Lost at Sea” by Steven Callahan.

My day consists of helping out the scientists with their fish count. This means baiting the fish traps with menhaden, dropping them off the back of the ship at the prescribed locations, circling back around 75-90 minutes later to scoop them back up. This is followed by chronicling the different fish caught – some are tossed back to the sea, others are kept for all sorts of further data collection (more soon). There’s so much crazy cool data being collected on this ship. I thought you’d like to see some of it. Here’s a diagram I made and I’ll try to include each post that highlights the fish counts. I redrew fish diagrams based off of the fish in the handy book, “Reef Fish Identification” by Paul Humann and Ned Deloach. I thought you’d also like to see what these fish look like. *Keep in mind that this first day was pretty low in fish count due to our location.

Fish Count day 1 — NOAA Pisces SEFIS Fish Count, July 16, 2019

Personal Log

David Madden aboard NOAA Ship Pisces
State Room Tag

This is now my fourth day on the ship. My journey began around 9:20 am Sunday with a ride to the airport. From there I jumped on a flight from TLH to Charlotte. Followed by a steamy flight to New Bern, NC and a 45 minute drive to Morehead City, NC. There I met up with NOAA scientist, Nate Bacheler who showed me around the ship and introduced me to everybody on board. Starting Monday morning the rest of the crew, including all of the scientists, started showing up. I’ve been getting used to life aboard a research vessel and loving the view!

General Updates:

The seas have been calm, and so far, no seasickness.
The food has been delicious – thank you Dana and Rey.
So far my favorite animal is the flying fish. I’ve seen dozens – my next task is to figure out how to get some epic footage.
The science team is very dedicated, interesting, diverse, hardworking, and super smart! Stay tuned for interviews.

Neato Facts =

NOAA Ship Pisces can travel at speeds up to 18.4 mph (16 knots). How fast is that? Let’s compare it to two famous marine organisms.

Yesterday I ate a banana. No big deal, right? Wrong. Even though I didn’t buy the banana or bring the banana onboard, some folks looked at me sideways. They said, “Do you know what it means to have a banana on a boat?!” and “Be sure to ask your students why it’s a bad idea to have bananas on a boat”. So I got to asking around and turns out that bananas and boats don’t mix well in the land of the superstitious. Supposedly, bananas cause bad luck, and many seasoned sailors refuse to let them on their boats. So far no bad luck… but then again, today has been a low fish count day (see diagram above). Might be my fault!

It’s only been two day and already my mind is spinning with interesting information, undecipherable acronyms, and new nautical terms. Stay tuned for: interviews, fish count background and techniques, swim bladder chemistry, tour of the ship, and survey science. What else would you like to learn about? Coming up: What’s a knot?! Please post questions and comments below!

July 11, 2019July 22, 2019

David Madden: Preparing for Pisces 2019, July 11, 2019

NOAA Teacher at Sea

David Madden

Preparing to Board NOAA Ship Pisces

July 15 – 29, 2019

Mission: South East Fisheries Independent Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Atlantic Ocean, SE US continental shelf ranging from Cape Hatteras, NC (35º30’ N, 75º19’W) to St. Lucie Inlet, FL (27º00’N, 75º59’W)

Date: July 11, 2019

NOAA Ship Pisces — NOAA Ship *Pisces*. Photo by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Introductory Post

Personal Log:

Hello friends,

My name is David Madden. I am a high school science teacher at Maclay School in Tallahassee, FL, and I’m getting ready to go on my NOAA Teacher at Sea cruise! I recently completed my 21^st year teaching – it’s been a super fun journey. I am as excited heading into year 22 as I was in years 1-5. I’ve been in love with nature since I can remember.

Madden Science logo

Over the course of my career I’ve taught: AP Biology, regular Biology, Physics, Integrated Science (bio, chem, phys combined), and Marine Biology. This upcoming year I will also be teaching AP Environmental Science. I’ve loved every minute of my job – teaching and learning with students, challenging myself and being challenged by my friends and colleagues, and exploring new adventures – like NOAA Teacher at Sea. Along the way I’ve also been a coach, helping kids learn the value of sports, including: volleyball, basketball, tennis, and track.

Over the last few years I’ve started making educational videos for my students – as a way for them to further develop their love of science and grow their scientific literacy: Madden Science on YouTube and www.maddenscience.com.

Madden family — The hardest part of the trip will be missing these two!

Starting on July 15^th, 2019, I will be aboard NOAA Ship Pisces as part of the Southeast Fishery-Independent Survey (SEFIS). The mission of the cruise will be to conduct “applied fishery-independent sampling with chevron fish traps and attached underwater video cameras, and catch rates and biological data from SEFIS are critical for various stock assessments for economically important reef fishes along the southeast US Atlantic coast.” It’s an amazing opportunity for me to participate in important scientific research. I have the opportunity to work alongside and learn from some of the best scientists in the world.

Pisces Picture Wikipedia — NOAA Ship *Pisces*. Photo by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

There are so many things about NOAA Teacher at Sea that I’m looking forward to. Here’s a few:

Spending time out on the ocean, experiencing the energy and power of the wild sea.
Working with and learning from some of the world’s leading oceanic and atmospheric scientists.
Learning about fish and marine biodiversity in the Atlantic.
Asking tons of questions and hopefully learning more about the ocean and its central importance in our changing world.
Sharing my experience with you; my family, friends, students, and the public. I’ll share this adventure via this blog and also via videos I hope to create while on NOAA Ship Pisces. My goal is for these blog posts and videos to serve as a real-time record of the cruise, to be helpful and interesting right now, and also to help serve as resources for my classes and other classrooms around the world.

Neato Fact:

NOAA Ship Pisces is 209 feet (64 meters) long. To give you an idea, that’s basically 70% of a football field. That’s longer than two blue whales (~90 feet), the largest and longest animal to ever live! Usain Bolt can run that far in 6.13 seconds (assuming 9.58 s for 100 m). A starfish, traveling at 60 feet/hour, would take about 3.5 hours to travel the length of Pisces.

Madden Pisces diagram — NOAA Ship *Pisces* is 209 ft long.

I’d love it if you could join in with me on this adventure – please comment and ask questions. I’ll do my best to respond in a helpful and interesting way!